Crystal Caves
Kristine Grayson
WMG, Sep 15 2015, $15.99
ISBN: 9781561466351
Like her two BFFs (her half-sisters Tiffany (see Tiffany Tumbles) and Brittany) Crystal
Chandler knows how fickle her
father is when he replaced the Fates (for daring to disobey his latest amoral
demand) with her and her siblings before firing them. No longer residents of Olympus; each sibling
resides with their moms in America without their magic and very limited contact
with one another.
Feeling lonely especially since
her BFFs have loving moms who want them; her Mother calls her “The Unexpected Consequence of a Momentary
Lapse of Judgment”. Her
stepfather ignores her; an “older” half-brother
dubs her “The Unwelcome Visitor”; and three younger half-brothers fail to
acknowledge her existence. Her only
nearby friends (extremely loose definition) are at the exclusive school she
attends. When she believes her shrink
Megan failed her and that she does not belong with her maternal family,
Crystal, who never decided anything, wants out of the agreement. However she cannot go home to Mount Olympus
without the three Fates’ intervention but her only hope to make contact is her
fickle Father; which means owing him for eternity.
The second Interim Fates is
an outstanding serious teen contemporary. The protagonist is the poster child for the
original Maslow’s Hierarchy as her biological, physiological and safety
needs are met; but she lacks love and belongingness, esteem and
self-actualization. Thus the storyline focuses once again on an outsider who
fails to fit in after her fall from the top of the Pantheon to the bottom of an
American high school, but Crystal has no loving support system unlike
Tiffany. Crystal Caves is summed
up in the immortal words of Yogi Bear: “…smarter than the average bear” but
still don’t belong here (or anywhere).
Harriet Klausner
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